“Tiered
ARF for motorcycles will be introduced to improve the progressivity of the
vehicle tax system. The following tiered ARF rates will apply to all
motorcycles registering with Certificates of Entitlement (“COEs”) obtained from
the second COE bidding exercise in February:

OMV

ARF
rates

First $5,000 of the OMV

15%

Next $5,000 of the OMV (i.e. $5,001 to $10,000)

50%

Remaining OMV above $10,000

100%

For motorcycles that do not need to bid for a COE (e.g.
classic motorcycles), the new tiered ARF rates will apply on or after 21
February 2017.

To give potential buyers more time, the second COE bidding
exercise in February, which was initially scheduled on 20 February 2017, will
be held on 22 February 2017.”

This change effectively will see
consumer paying thousands more as compared to current scheme for large capacity
(cc) motorcycles.

As the calculation shows, any mid-range motorcycle with
around S$10,000 OMV value will have to fork out an additional $1,750 for the
Tiered ARF and god bless the exotic high-end brands such as Aprilia, Triumph,
Ducati, MV Agusta, Harley Davidson etc, which will see a huge leap in machine
pricing upwards above S$5,000 at least.

The good news however is, Category D (Motorcycle) COE quota
available from deregistration will no longer be transferred to Category E (Open
Category) with effect from May 2017. The past schemes saw 25% of the quota from
Cat D got transferred to the Cat E prior to February 2015 and a further
reduction to 10% from February 2015.

This unfair practise was highlighted by the Singapore Motor
Cycle Trade Association (SMCTA) for many years due the constant rising of
COE prices due to under-supply of COE quotas available for bidding each month.

The double impact of having more COE quota each month and
increased costing for larger capacity motorcycles should effectively push the
COE bidding price downwards, despite the ambiguity of which is the effective
factor.

I remembered clearly that this new ruling caused a big
turn-up at most car showrooms where consumers who wish to enjoy the 10 year
maximum tenure have to sign the purchase agreement dated before 26 February
2013.

Today, we see the same hard-handed tactics from the authority
with just mere couple of days to react to the sudden implementation of new
ruling.

Will we expect to see bikers flocking to showrooms to sign
on the dotted line to purchase their dream motorcycles with readily available
COEs on dealers’ hands?

Remember, any motorcycles registered with the second COE
bidding exercise in February 2017 will be subjected to the Tiered ARF computation.
In short, if you decide to go ahead with the purchase of your motorcycle, it
may (or may not if COE starts heading southwards) save you the extra couple of
thousands.

In the next decade, will Singapore motorcycling scene deteriorate
to the likes of Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Taiwan where majority are low cc
bikes? You either ride to earn a living or you are wealthy to pay premium
prices for your hobby.

It is a sad moment for the motorcycling scene in Singapore.

In the midst of unhappiness, please find entertainment in the following parody video.

You might also like

Explore Singapore Bikes on the go

View the latest & hottest motorcycles on your mobile devices now. View, post and interact with other users and posting an advertisement for your motorcycle has never been easier now with our Singapore Bikes Mobile App. Download on Play Store now.